"The Death of Captain America" is an eighteen-issue Captain America story arc
written by Ed Brubaker with art by Steve Epting and published by Marvel Comics.
The arc first appears in Captain America #25-#42. The first issue of the story
arc, Captain America #25, was the highest selling comic for the month of
its release. The story arc had wide-sweeping effects throughout the
Marvel Universe and was accompanied by the miniseries Fallen Son: The Death of
Captain America. Plot summary
= The Death of the Dream = In the aftermath of Civil War, Captain
America is taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody where he is assassinated per the
order of the Red Skull. Crossbones snipes at him while Sharon Carter, who
has been brainwashed by Doctor Faustus, posing as a S.H.I.E.L.D. psychiatrist,
delivers the killing shot. S.H.I.E.L.D. director Tony Stark and Black Widow hunt
Captain America's murderers. Falcon, Captain America's old partner, follows
his own leads to find the killers. Meanwhile, Bucky Barnes decides to kill
Tony Stark, blaming him for Captain America's death.
= The Burden of Dreams = After receiving a letter written by
Steve Rogers telling him that the Captain America legacy should continue,
and look out for Bucky, Stark shows Bucky Barnes the letter and proposes to
make him the new Captain America. Bucky agrees on the condition that he can be
an independent agent who doesn't answer to Stark, S.H.I.E.L.D., or the
Initiative. The Red Skull fakes the death of Aleksander Lukin, whose mind he
inhabits, begins using Kronas Corporation's vast holdings to
economically cripple the United States, before having S.H.I.E.L.D. agents
brainwashed by Doctor Faustus open fire on crowds of protesters in front of the
White House. The Red Skull continues his assault by engineering a riot by placing
Kronas security troops and drugged water in a protest on the Lincoln Monument.
The Skull also kidnaps Sharon Carter, who now knows that she is pregnant with
Steve Rogers' child. = The Man Who Bought America =
All of the Red Skull's actions benefit his puppet politician, Gordon Wright,
who quickly becomes a popular third party Presidential candidate. Once
elected, Wright will lead the country directly into a police state secretly
controlled by the Red Skull. The Skull also plans to transfer his
consciousness into Sharon's unborn child, apparently sired by Steve Rogers
himself and potentially having inherited his Project Rebirth enhancements.
Both schemes fail because of the impatience and incompetence of the
Skull's daughter — her near-fatal attack on Sharon Carter causes her to lose the
baby, and she intentionally botches her pseudo-assassination of Gordon Wright by
attempting to kill him in earnest. Faustus has surreptitiously tampered
with Sharon's programming, allowing her to rebel, and before escaping shoots
Lukin to death. Black Widow and the Falcon lead a S.H.I.E.L.D. raid at the
Red Skull's compound. Most of the Skull's agents are captured. The Red
Skull escapes however; his consciousness is transferred from Lukin to one of the
robot bodies used by Arnim Zola. Collected editions
The story arc is collected in three trade paperbacks and one Marvel Omnibus:
Captain America: The Death of Captain America, Vol. 1 - The Death of the Dream
Captain America: The Death of Captain America, Vol. 2 - The Burden of Dreams
Captain America: The Death of Captain America, Vol. 3 - The Man Who Bought
America Captain America: The Death Of Captain
America Omnibus Reception
Captain America #25 which depicted Steve Rogers' death was the highest selling
comic of March 2007 with preorder sales of 290,514 which was double the sales of
the Mighty Avengers #1 in the same period. The Death of Captain America was
reported in ABC News, where Bryan Robinson paralleled the events to the
Post-September 11 World and Iraq. Novel
The storyline will be adapted into a novel by comics writer Larry Hama in
March 2014 to tie in the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and
features Black Widow, Falcon and Bucky Barnes as central characters.
See also Fallen Son: The Death of Captain America
Civil War Captain America: Reborn
External links Captain America Is Dead; National Hero
Since 1941, New York Times References